Man arrested in fatal shooting released without charges 11-22-02

Hawaii County police have released a 55-year-old man arrested in a fatal shooting that occurred Thursday (November 21, 2002) at a Kapoho residence in Puna.

The man, identified as Delan Armstrong Perry, was released without being charged pending further investigation by Hilo Criminal Investigation Section detectives. The case will be referred to the County Prosecutor’s Office for its review and disposition.

Perry was arrested without incident early Thursday morning after the shooting in which a neighbor, identified as Samuel Soo Kim, 61, was killed. Autopsy results showed that Kim died of shotgun pellet wounds to the chest and head.

Perry’s wife had called police to report the 3:30 a.m. shooting. Perry was waiting for Puna patrol officers when they arrived and was taken into custody without incident.

Upon their arrival, CIS detectives found Kim’s body lying in the driveway of Perry’s residence. Kim was dressed in dark clothes and was wearing a “watch cap” with cutout eyeholes. The cap was pulled down to cover his face. A .22-caliber pistol was found next to Kim’s right hand, and a hatchet was found in close proximity to the body. The pistol was later determined to be registered to Kim.

A papaya grower, Perry said his property had been vandalized in the past, and he has been fearful of intruders on his property.

He said that on the night of the shooting, he and his wife were awakened by the sound of dogs barking and breaking glass.

Because of past incidents, Perry took his 12-gauge shotgun and walked outside to find out the cause of the disturbance. Outside, he again heard breaking glass and shouted in the direction of the sound. He then heard a gunshot, so he fired a shot in the air in the direction of the intruder to scare him away.

Instead of running away, the intruder started running toward him and firing his weapon, Perry said. Perry said both he and the intruder exchanged gunfire, and the intruder fell to the ground.

Detectives discovered that one of the guard dogs had been killed by a .22-caliber gunshot wound and that batteries connected to a “chill house” had been damaged.

Detectives also determined that Kim lived about a half-mile from Perry’s residence and had entered Perry’s property on foot without Perry’s permission.